Austin’s new express bus service has a launch date.
On Jan. 26. Capital Metro’s MetroRapid service will begin offering bus service at least every 15 minutes – and even more during rush hour.
The first route starts in January: it runs along North Lamar to Guadalupe to South Congress. The second route will launch later in 2014. It will run along Burnet Road to Guadalupe to South Lamar. (See a map of the routes below.)
“We are going to operating on the most highly congested corridors in our region,” Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson said at a media ride-along on the new buses today. “It will really make riding transit much easier than it has been.”
As KUT previously reported, the busses are equipped with sensors that can hold green lights for up to seven seconds. Portions of MetroRapid’s downtown route will also operate in “bus-only” traffic lanes.
You might see the 60-foot, accordion style buses on the roads next month, when Cap Metro begins testing the new vehicles and training drivers – but you won’t be able to board one until nearly the end of January.
